Wake The Cat Review

As a former guardian of an beautiful orange tabby, I'm one of those rare guys who loves cats. Show them affection when they're kittens, and unlike popular myths suggest, they really do return the favor. I could talk hours on end with fellow cat lovers -- we're like a secret society of outcasts shunned from a society where man's best friend reigns over the dominion. So it's obvious Chillingo's newest game Wake The Cat pretty much had me at hello. It's easily the cutest iOS title on my iPad, but does this feline actually have nine lives?

The object of the game is to simply wake your kitten from a deep slumber by rolling a ball of yarn his way. With over 60 levels to play, this physics based game gets harder to master sooner than you think. With moving toy trains, portal slippers, and fans among the items that can either block or aid your path, getting that yarn will take perfect timing and moving at the right angles. To move the yarn, as well as manipulate other items in the room, just drag a finger on your device. Control wise, it's a piece of cake. But before we get any further into the game, let's take a look at why Wake The Cat's opening moments are just so adorable.

After the first several minutes, waking the kitty has the potential of digressing into an entirely boring adventure, but thanks to the interactivity of the trains, fans, and slippers, the monotony factor is kept to a minimum. Since I'm not exactly the smartest kid on the block, it took me a couple of minutes to realize that tapping the electric fan will turn the device on, and depending on the level, a slight gust of air is what's needed to push that yarn to its desired destination.

Rolling the yarn into a slipper is an altogether different and surreal experience. Instead of getting stuck with no place to go, the ball of yarn is spit out from another slipper, even if it's from the other end of the room. Scoring each level is dependent on how quickly you can solve the level and how much yarn you use for the kitten. If you complete each level in an excellent fashion, you'll receive three stars. If you're a goal oriented gamer, completing each section of the house (the hall, the kitchen, playroom, and storeroom), constitutes for four of the title's 17 achievements.

As the game progresses, the puzzles get bigger than the actual screen, and you will have to move your finger to actually see the complete breadth of space you're dealing with. Once the kitten starts sleeping in the kitchen, an entirely new orbital phase kicks in, and that's when things get truly difficult. For physics based game aficionados, this is definitely the stage when things get interesting. If you are stuck a little too long on a level, the light bulb on the lower right hand corner gives you a free hint every hour.

Although the lazy side of me wants an easier ride through Wake The Cat, the dreamy animation, aided by a pleasant music score, really puts me in a relaxed state of mind. So maybe if I throw dozens of yarn balls that go nowhere, at least I can admire the view. Who really wants to wake such a cute little kitty anyway?